1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control device for a household electrical appliance.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various types of devices are known for controlling the operation of a household electrical appliance such as a refrigerator, an electric or microwave oven, a washing machine or the like. These devices are positioned on a xe2x80x9cuser interfacexe2x80x9d generally associated with a part of the appliance structure or cabinet.
It is also known to position a user interface on the door covering the cavity or chamber (preservation, wash or cooking) of the appliance in which the xe2x80x9cloadxe2x80x9d (food, crockery, laundry, etc.) is placed for subjection to an intervention (preservation, wash, cooking etc.); in this case the user interface and the means for setting the control means for the various operational members of the appliance (electric motor, compressor, heater elements or microwave generators) are connected to the control means generally by electrical connection members which have however to enable the door to move relative to the (fixed) structure of the appliance. This is a problem which requires considerable effort for its solution, with corresponding design and construction costs which affect the final cost of the appliance.
Another technical problem is the poor flexibility of the appliance user interface, in that once the position of the various buttons or knobs of the interface has been determined, it is not simple to change their positioning without having to redesign the printed circuits (PCBs) which lie below the user interface.
An object of the present invention is to provide a device for controlling the operation of a household electrical appliance, of the type comprising an interface positioned on the electrical appliance, which is of simple construction, is of low cost and enables the aforestated technical problems to be overcome.
Another object is to provide a device of the aforestated type which is simple and reliable to use.
These and further objects which will be apparent to the expert of the art are attained by a device in accordance with the accompanying claims.